@gallentjill’s accurate assessment of New York State’s public universities is exactly why many top students on Long Island do not want to go there:
The state has not invested in a flagship. Yes, the SUNYs are pretty “even”— the quality of education is solid across many of them. But the down side of this is that class sizes remain large, and US News/Forbes rankings are embarrassingly low for a state with some of the highest achieving students in the nation.
Binghamton seems to be the most attractive state option for the top students on Long Island (except for some STEM-focused kids who pick Stony Brook, and a few kids who are mostly applying to small colleges who pick the mid-sized Geneseo as the closest thing to a LAC). Kids in the top five percent or so of their high school class going to Bing get to go to school with 15-20 other kids from their high school… some of whom have achieved nowhere near their level of academic achievement— they will be going to school not solely surrounded by the state’s smartest kids but also by the “regular smart kids” gallentjill mentioned. (Will they still get a solid education and have many very bright peers? Of course they will.)
For some, the state colleges are their top choice. Usually the reason is financial, but often not because they cannot afford a private college. The top private colleges are much more generous with aid and much more affordable than a SUNY; even with the new free tuition at SUNY, which is great, a truly needy family may pay more at a public than at a top private because of room and board. The state colleges have many students from upper middle class families and upper class families whose families just plain decide that they would rather not pay more for a private college when a bachelor’s degree can be attained for less money at a SUNY. Local families in our area who earn more than I do are choosing to send their students to SUNYs.
So, in summary, some students pick a SUNY because it is a less expensive option. These students often are really excited to attend. But some others go to a SUNY because it picked them, when no other college did. April is a disappointing month for them. Can they have a great time anyway, with bright peers and intellectual satisfaction, once they arrive on campus? Of course they can.